Oil rises for 6th session, buoyed by US output decline

[SINGAPORE] Crude oil futures rose for a sixth consecutive session on Thursday, as a decline in US production underpinned the market that has been under pressure from a global supply glut.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 7 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to US$44.81 per barrel by 0003 GMT, while the benchmark Brent futures gained 8 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to US$47.39 a barrel.

WTI climbed to US$44.90 a barrel, matching Wednesday's peak price which was highest since June 19.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude stocks rose 118,000 barrels last week, while weekly production declined 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.3 million bpd. That was the biggest decline in weekly output since July 2016.

There was additional support stemming from a decline in US gasoline inventories.

"Prices were also supported after data showed another strong drawdown in inventories in the US," ANZ said in a note.

"Gasoline inventories fell 894,000 barrels. This suggests demand is starting to pick up, after a slow start to the US summer driving season."

Other analysts and traders noted the US production decline last week was related to temporary factors like Tropical Storm Cindy in the Gulf of Mexico and maintenance work in Alaska that will likely be reversed in coming weeks.

Futures rose after the EIA report, even though data showed a build instead of the 2.6 million-barrel draw that analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.

Ian Taylor, head of the world's largest independent oil trader Vitol, said Brent will stay in a range of US$40-US$55 a barrel for the next few quarters as higher US production slows a rebalancing of the market.

Analysts at JBC Energy in a report saw room for prices to recover, saying "there is now significant room for speculative support for prices to develop if a catalyst were to emerge."

Still, global supplies are ample despite output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and other producing countries of 1.8 million bpd since January.

Opec and the other producers, trying to reduce a crude glut, agreed in May to extend the supply cut through March 2018. But Opec has exempted Nigeria and Libya from cutting output.

Opec delegates have said they will not rush to cut crude output further or end the exemptions, although a meeting in Russia next month is likely to consider further steps to support the market.

REUTERS